Boyhood (2014)
12 years in the making.
The film tells a story of a divorced couple trying to raise their young son. The story follows the boy for twelve years, from first grade at age 6 through 12th grade at age 17-18, and examines his relationship with his parents as he grows.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 5 June 2014 |
| Genre | Drama |
| Director | Richard Linklater |
| Starring | Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette and Ethan Hawke |
| Runtime | 165 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 9.2/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 97% · Metacritic 100/100 · IMDb 7.9/10 · TMDB users 7.5/10 |
| Budget | $4 million |
| Box office | $57 million worldwide |
Where to watch Boyhood
Boyhood is streaming on Tubi in the US.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 1 November 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Boyhood on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Boyhood in 6 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Canada | Paramount+ |
| Estonia | Max |
| Japan | U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Latvia | Max |
| Lithuania | Max |
| South Korea | Wavve ₩10900, Watcha |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Boyhood is a 2014 drama directed by Richard Linklater that tracks a boy’s growth over twelve real years. It clocks in at 165 minutes, a runtime that mirrors the actual passage of time rather than compressing it into a standard narrative arc. The film observes the slow, quiet friction of a divorce and the subtle shifts in a child’s identity. It is not a movie you consume; it is a window you look through. The patience required to sit with it is the point.
What the critics said
Critics did not merely like Boyhood; they treated it as a benchmark. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 97% approval rating, averaging 9.2 out of 10. Metacritic assigns a perfect 100, a score it has given to only 14 films since its inception. That is not a common club. Manohla Dargis of The New York Times found the realism "jolting," while A. O. Scott called it the best film of 2014. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian agreed, naming it one of the greatest films of the decade. The consensus calls it epic in scale yet intimate in scope.
How it did with audiences
Against a $4 million budget, Boyhood collected $57 million worldwide, a return that turns a modest bet into a significant win. The film earned $25 million in the United States. On TMDB, users rate it 7.5 out of 10. IMDb reports a 7.9/10 score as of March 2026. The numbers suggest audiences recognized the value of watching a child grow up in real time, even if the box office never quite matched the hype.
Awards
Boyhood picked up 5 wins from 6 nominations. Patricia Arquette took the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Richard Linklater collected the BAFTA for Best Film. The film also grabbed the Dorian Award for Film of the Year and the FIPRESCI Grand Prix. It landed in the National Board of Review's Top Ten. A solid haul for a movie that just sat there for three years.
Where it left its mark
The critical consensus has solidified. BBC Culture ranked it the fifth greatest film since 2000 in a 2016 poll. The New York Times placed it eighth on its 2017 list of the best films of the 21st century, then moved it to number 23 in 2025. Rolling Stone’s 2025 list put it at number 10. Pablo Larraín has called it a film that lives in his heart. He wants to make something as good as it when he grows up. That is a high bar.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Boyhood.
Sources
- Boyhood on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q4103201 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Boyhood (2014 film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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